birth certificate for citizenship

[amzad]

Has anyone here applied for European citizenship? If so, did you need to present a birth certificate when you applied?

[John]

There is no such thing as European Citizenship, well certainly it is not something that you apply for as such.

That is, you apply for citizenship of an EU member state. If grant you are a member of that state, and thus also a European Citizenship.

[Christophe]

Many countries in the EU would, I imagine, normally want to see the birth certificate of an applicant for naturalisation; probably often too for any citizen (naturalised or otherwise) applying for a first (or subsequent) passport. But each country has its own rules and regulations.

Why do you ask?

[Administrator]

.

If you have a birth certificate from an EU country, indicating that you were born in that country, then in most cases you are a citizen of that country, which makes you an EU citizen.

Some countries, depending on your personal circumstances, may not automatically grant citizenship based upon the location of your birth.

The birth countries of your parents and the actual location you were born then come into play.

Further, if there have been many years since you were in a country and (perhaps) you were born there and only stayed for a short time, there may be questions as to which country you are a citizen.

All of that said, then maybe you are referring to the idea of immigrating to a European country and becoming a citizen there ..?

Yes, then you would be an EU citizen if that country is a part of the EU.


More information from you is necessary to give better advice.

What country were you born in?

When?

If an EU country, describe how long you were in that country and at what ages. Often, around 16 or 18, a child has to declare which country they wish to be a citizen of .. but we need to know which countries are involved.

Which EU country do you imagine you are or want to be a citizen of?

the Admin

[JAJ]

.

If you have a birth certificate from an EU country, indicating that you were born in that country, then in most cases you are a citizen of that country, which makes you an EU citizen.

In fact the opposite is true - most European countries do not grant citizenship based on place of birth alone.

Only Britain (before 1983) and Ireland (before 2005) did this.

[amzad]

lf l was born in USA but got Romanian citizenship because my grandparents were Romanian, but want to naturalize in Denmark. Would Danish immigration want to see the American birth certificate.

[Christophe]

lf l was born in USA but got Romanian citizenship because my grandparents were Romanian, but want to naturalize in Denmark. Would Danish immigration want to see the American birth certificate.

Official information about Danish citizenship can be found at http://www.inm.dk/en-us/citizenship/citizenship.htm, with access from this sub-page to the naturalisation application form.

In most cases (and, it would seem from what you have posted about yourself, in your case), requirements for acquiring Danish citizenship are very rigorous - including, for example: legal residence of 9 years' duration, and permanent residence at the time of application; an adequate knowledge of the Danish language ("adequate" here being a much higher level of language competence than is required by, for example, applicants for grant of Australian citizenship or British naturalisation); and an adequate knowledge of Danish society, history and culture. Less rigorous requirements apply in certain circumstances (for example, for citizens of other countries of the Nordic Passport Union, and for people married to a Danish citizen.) All of these requirements and others are detailed in the above pages. Also, applicants for Danish citizenship by naturalisation are generally required to renounce any other citizenship(s) that they hold, so you would have to renounce your US citizenship and (if it is possible) your Romanian citizenship in order to acquire Danish citizenhip. (And there is no easy path for re-acquiring US citizenship once it has been renounced.)

But you still haven't told us what the problem would be if you were required to produce your birth certificate...

[JAJ]

Also, applicants for Danish citizenship by naturalisation are generally required to renounce any other citizenship(s) that they hold, so you would have to renounce your US citizenship and (if it is possible) your Romanian citizenship in order to acquire Danish citizenhip. (And there is no easy path for re-acquiring US citizenship once it has been renounced.)

While it's understandable that someone might want to become a Danish citizen if living in Denmark, swapping American and Romanian citizenship in order to achieve this seems like a poor bargain.

[cantaro]

While it's understandable that someone might want to become a Danish citizen if living in Denmark, swapping American and Romanian citizenship in order to achieve this seems like a poor bargain.

Agreed. Since Romania is now a EU member state, and it will be only a few years before Romanian citizens are entitled to the full EU rights of free movement, there is no point really in becoming a Danish citizen, since the Romanian passport would allow you to move to and reside freely in any EU member state.